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paragraphsandpages 's review for:
Juniper & Thorn
by Ava Reid
I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.
I adored The Wolf and the Woodsman and was overjoyed when I was approved for this ARC. Something about Reid’s first novel just really struck me, and I couldn’t wait to read her sophomore novel. While I wasn’t actually familiar with The Juniper Tree going in, I always love retellings of folktales and fairy tales because of the atmosphere it generally brings. I’ve also wanted to dive more into horror/fantasy horror lately, and this seemed like the perfect way to do it.
Juniper & Thorn takes the inherent darkness of many fairy tales to heart, and honestly, I think this is one of the most gruesome, horrifying retellings I’ve ever read. There’s just so many horrific layers to Marlinchen’s world, and every time you think you’ve hit the darkest, deepest part of the story, more comes. For this reason, this is definitely not a book for everyone, but I highly recommend it nonetheless.
Marlinchen’s story is such a haunting one that I know I’ll find myself thinking back to it often. Her journey was a perilous one, even if it’s mainly contained within her father’s house, and it dealt largely with Marlinchen both recognizing the evil around her and learning to live with her trauma that’s born from that evil. Since this journey is largely an internal one, Reid’s lyrical writing felt more important than ever, as it allowed for me to put myself in Marlinchen’s shoes, and feel some measure of the pain she went through during her life. This writing is also what made some of the harder scenes in the book bearable and a bit easier to read.
Overall, I loved this book and I loved seeing Sevas and Marlinchen both find each other and slay their demons together, both figuratively and literally. This book has really solidified Reid as an instant-buy author for me, and I cannot wait to see what she writes next.
I adored The Wolf and the Woodsman and was overjoyed when I was approved for this ARC. Something about Reid’s first novel just really struck me, and I couldn’t wait to read her sophomore novel. While I wasn’t actually familiar with The Juniper Tree going in, I always love retellings of folktales and fairy tales because of the atmosphere it generally brings. I’ve also wanted to dive more into horror/fantasy horror lately, and this seemed like the perfect way to do it.
Juniper & Thorn takes the inherent darkness of many fairy tales to heart, and honestly, I think this is one of the most gruesome, horrifying retellings I’ve ever read. There’s just so many horrific layers to Marlinchen’s world, and every time you think you’ve hit the darkest, deepest part of the story, more comes. For this reason, this is definitely not a book for everyone, but I highly recommend it nonetheless.
Marlinchen’s story is such a haunting one that I know I’ll find myself thinking back to it often. Her journey was a perilous one, even if it’s mainly contained within her father’s house, and it dealt largely with Marlinchen both recognizing the evil around her and learning to live with her trauma that’s born from that evil. Since this journey is largely an internal one, Reid’s lyrical writing felt more important than ever, as it allowed for me to put myself in Marlinchen’s shoes, and feel some measure of the pain she went through during her life. This writing is also what made some of the harder scenes in the book bearable and a bit easier to read.
Overall, I loved this book and I loved seeing Sevas and Marlinchen both find each other and slay their demons together, both figuratively and literally. This book has really solidified Reid as an instant-buy author for me, and I cannot wait to see what she writes next.